Allegory Of A Farmer

An Allegory can be a poem, story, or picture which could be interpreted to have an alternative meaning. The meaning can be understood through examples. In this way the story will stay in your memory for longer. I like allegories for this reason, as I do not have a good memory, and enjoy finding ways which I can actually remember things easily. This allegory below is one which I remember well. It has a moral which few believe in and therefore do not achieve in these self-centred times we now live in unfortunately.

“There was a farmer who grew excellent quality corn. Every year he won the award for the best grown corn. One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbours. “How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbours when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?” the reporter asked.

“Why sir,” said the farmer, “Didn’t you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn.””

Source: reported in James Bender How to Talk Well (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1994)

So is with our lives… Those who want to live meaningfully and well must help enrich the lives of others, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all… We will reap what we sow. Thanks for reading, leave a comment below if this has brought up any thoughts for you. Stephen.